The invention of the incandescent light bulb by Thomas Edison in 1879 created a demand for a cheap, readily available fuel with which to generate large amounts of electric power. Coal seemed to fit the bill, and it fueled the earliest power stations (which were set up at the end of the nineteenth century by Edison himself). As more power plants were constructed throughout the country, the reliance on coal increased. Since the First World War, coal-fired power plants have accounted for about half of the electricity produced in the United States each year. In 1986 such plants had a combined capacity of 289,000 megawatts and consumed 83 percent of the nearly 900 million tons of coal mined in the country that year. Given the uncertainty in the future growth of nuclear power and in the supply of oil and natural gas, coal-fired power plants could well provide up to 70 percent of the electric power in the United States by the end of the century.
Yet, in spite of the fact that coal has long been a source of electricity and may remain one for many years (coal represents about 80 percent of the United States fossil-fuel reserves), it has actually never been the most desirable fossil fuel for power plants. Coal contains less energy per unit of weight than natural gas or oil; it is difficult to transport, and it is associated with a host of environmental issues, among them acid rain. Since the late 1960s problems of emission control and waste disposal have sharply reduced the appeal of coal-fired power plants. The cost of ameliorating these environmental problems, along with the rising cost of building a facility as large and complex as a coal-fired power plant, has also made such plants less attractive from a purely economic perspective.
Changes in the technological base of coal-fired power plants could restore their attractiveness, however. Whereas some of these changes are evolutionary and are intended mainly to increase the productivity of existing plants, completely new technologies for burning coal cleanly are also being developed.
1. What is the main idea of the passage?
2. Edison’s electric light bulb is mentioned in the passage because it ________.
3. It can be inferred from the passage that coal became the principal source of electricity in the United States because it ________.
4. In the author’s opinion, the importance of coal-generated electricity could increase in the future for which of the following reasons?
5. According to the passage, which of the following is one of the goals of the new technology in coal-fired plants?
问题1选项
A.Coal-fired plants are an important source of electricity in the United States and are likely to remain so.
B.Generating electricity from coal is comparatively recent in the United States.
C.Coal is a more economical fuel than either oil or nuclear power.
D.Coal is a safer and more dependable fossil fuel than oil or gas.
问题2选项
A.replaced gas as a light source
B.increased the need for electrical power
C.was safer than any other method of lighting
D.could work only with electricity generated from coal
问题3选项
A.required no complicated machinery
B.was comparatively plentiful and inexpensive
C.was easy to transport
D.burned efficiently
问题4选项
A.The possible substitutes are too dangerous.
B.The cost of changing to other fuels is uncertain.
C.The future availability of other fuels is uncertain.
D.Other fuels present too many environmental problems.
问题5选项
A.To adapt the plants to other kinds of fuel.
B.To reduce the cost of building more plants.
C.To lengthen the lives of plants already in use.
D.To make the plants already in use more productive.
第1题:A
第2题:B
第3题:B
第4题:C
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
What is the main idea of the passage? 这篇文章的主旨是什么？
A. Coal-fired plants are an important source of electricity in the United States and are likely to remain so. A. 燃煤发电厂是美国重要的电力来源，而且很可能继续如此。
B. Generating electricity from coal is comparatively recent in the United States. B. 在美国，用煤发电是最近的事。
C. Coal is a more economical fuel than either oil or nuclear power. C. 煤炭是比石油或核能更经济的燃料。
D. Coal is a safer and more dependable fossil fuel than oil or gas. D. 煤炭是一种比石油或天然气更安全可靠的化石燃料。
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章描述了煤炭在美国发电中的历史意义，由于环境问题和成本带来的挑战，以及提到了技术进步可能增加燃煤电厂的吸引力，由此可知本文的主旨是煤炭一直以来都是美国重要的电力来源。因此A选项“燃煤发电厂是美国重要的电力来源，而且很可能继续如此。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“在美国，用煤发电是最近的事。”，由Coal seemed to fit the bill, and it fueled the earliest power stations (which were set up at the end of the nineteenth century by Edison himself).（煤炭似乎符合这个需求，并为最早的发电站提供了燃料（这些发电站是在19世纪末由爱迪生本人建立的）。）可知，美国很早就开始用煤发电了，属于反向干扰；
C选项“煤炭是比石油或核能更经济的燃料。”，由The cost of ameliorating these environmental problems, along with the rising cost of building a facility as large and complex as a coal-fired power plant, has also made such plants less attractive from a purely economic perspective.（这些环境问题的缓解成本，以及建设一个像燃煤电厂这样大型复杂设施的成本上升，也使这种电厂从纯经济角度看变得不太吸引人。）可知，煤炭并不经济，属于反向干扰；
D选项“煤炭是一种比石油或天然气更安全可靠的化石燃料。”，由Coal contains less energy per unit of weight than natural gas or oil; it is difficult to transport, and it is associated with a host of environmental issues, among them acid rain.（与天然气或石油相比，煤炭的单位重量能量更少；它难以运输，并且与一系列环境问题有关，其中包括酸雨。）可知，煤炭并不安全可靠，属于反向干扰。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Edison’s electric light bulb is mentioned in the passage because it ________. 文中提到爱迪生的电灯泡是因为它________。
A. replaced gas as a light source A. 取代了煤气作为光源
B. increased the need for electrical power B. 增加了对电力的需求
C. was safer than any other method of lighting C. 比任何其他照明方法都更安全
D. could work only with electricity generated from coal D. 只能在煤炭发电的情况下工作
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Edison’s electric light bulb可以定位到文章第一段第一句“1879年，托马斯•爱迪生发明了白炽灯泡，这创造了对廉价、易得的燃料的需求，以产生大量电力（created a demand for a cheap, readily available fuel with which to generate large amounts of electric power）”，说明爱迪生的电灯泡增加了对电力的需求。因此B选项“增加了对电力的需求”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“取代了煤气作为光源”和C选项“比任何其他照明方法都更安全”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“只能在煤炭发电的情况下工作”，由created a demand for a cheap, readily available fuel（创造了对廉价、易得的燃料的需求）可知，电灯泡推动了对煤炭作为廉价易得的发电燃料的需求，不代表电灯泡只能在煤炭发电的情况下工作，属于过度推断。
第3题:
【选项释义】
It can be inferred from the passage that coal became the principal source of electricity in the United States because it ________. 从这篇文章中可以推断出，煤炭成为美国的主要电力来源是因为________。
A. required no complicated machinery A. 不需要复杂的机器
B. was comparatively plentiful and inexpensive B. 相对充足且价格低廉
C. was easy to transport C. 易于运输
D. burned efficiently D. 燃烧效率高
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词coal became the principal source of electricity可以定位到文章第二段第一句“煤炭长期以来一直是电力的来源，并可能在很多年内仍然是，煤炭占美国化石燃料储备的约80%（coal represents about 80 percent of the United States fossil-fuel reserves）”，说明煤炭储备的丰富，上文说到“1879年，托马斯•爱迪生发明了白炽灯泡，这创造了对廉价、易得的燃料（a cheap, readily available fuel）的需求，以产生大量电力。煤炭似乎符合这个需求（Coal seemed to fit the bill）”，说明煤炭的价格低廉，所以煤炭成为美国的主要电力来源是因为它相对充足且价格低廉。因此B选项“相对充足且价格低廉”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“不需要复杂的机器”，由building a facility as large and complex as a coal-fired power plant（建设一个像燃煤电厂这样大型复杂设施）可知，煤炭发电需要复杂的机器，属于反向干扰；
C选项“易于运输”，由it is difficult to transport（它难以运输）可知，煤炭不易于运输，属于反向干扰；
D选项“燃烧效率高”，由Coal contains less energy per unit of weight（煤炭的单位重量能量更少）可知，煤炭的燃烧效率不高，属于反向干扰。
第4题:
【选项释义】
In the author’s opinion, the importance of coal-generated electricity could increase in the future for which of the following reasons? 作者认为，煤炭发电的重要性在未来可能会增加，原因是什么？
A. The possible substitutes are too dangerous. A. 可能的替代品太危险。
B. The cost of changing to other fuels is uncertain. B. 改用其他燃料的成本不确定。
C. The future availability of other fuels is uncertain. C. 其他燃料的未来供应情况不确定。
D. Other fuels present too many environmental problems. D. 其他燃料会带来太多的环境问题。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词increase in the future可以定位到文章第一段最后一句“考虑到未来核能和石油天然气供应的不确定性（Given the uncertainty in the future growth of nuclear power and in the supply of oil and natural gas），到本世纪末，燃煤电厂可能会提供美国70%的电力”，说明煤炭发电的重要性在未来可能会增加的原因是其他燃料的供应不确定。因此C选项“其他燃料的未来供应情况不确定。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“可能的替代品太危险。”和B选项“改用其他燃料的成本不确定。”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“其他燃料会带来太多的环境问题。”，由it is difficult to transport, and it is associated with a host of environmental issues, among them acid rain.（它难以运输，并且与一系列环境问题有关，其中包括酸雨。）可知，带来环境问题的是煤炭而不是其他燃料，属于张冠李戴。
第5题:
【选项释义】
According to the passage, which of the following is one of the goals of the new technology in coal-fired plants? 根据这篇文章，以下哪项是燃煤电厂新技术的目标之一？
A. To adapt the plants to other kinds of fuel. A. 使发电厂适应其他种类的燃料。
B. To reduce the cost of building more plants. B. 降低建造更多发电厂的成本。
C. To lengthen the lives of plants already in use. C. 延长已在使用的发电厂的寿命。
D. To make the plants already in use more productive. D. 使已投入使用的工厂更具生产力。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词the goals of the new technology in coal-fired plants可以定位到文章最后一段最后一句“主要目的是提高现有电厂的生产力（intended mainly to increase the productivity of existing plants），但也在开发完全新的清洁燃煤技术”，说明技术进步的一部分目标是提高现有燃煤电厂的生产力。因此D选项“使已投入使用的工厂更具生产力。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“使发电厂适应其他种类的燃料。”，B选项“降低建造更多发电厂的成本。”和C选项“延长已在使用的发电厂的寿命。”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
